Of endocrine system
that shapes the basis;
regulates homeostasis.

In streaming blood
the hormones flood,
responding to stimuli
of functions gone awry.

Take the hypophysis:

Undergrowth
of the hypothalamus
on infundibulum,
a pendulous bell
beneath the third ventricle–

antidiuretic, oxytocin,
growth hormone and prolactin:

how much one pees,
how tall one stands,
the birth of babies,
and the milk they demand.

Dominant this
dichotomous gland
weighing just grams.